Brassiere



Jan. 9, 1968 E. BRUNO 3,362,409

BRASSIERE' Filed Sept. 3, 1965 FIG. 3

INVENTOR. k/ncb ATTORNEY 3,362,409 BRASSIERE Enrico Bruno, Brooklyn, N.Y., assignor t Maidenform, Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 3, 1965, Ser. No. 484,793 1 Claim. (Cl. 128-489) The object of the invention is to provide a brassiere having the characteristic of self-adjustment of the cups at the lower framing thereof, to meet conditions with respect to the rib cage area of the wearer. Thus in the application of a brassiere having a standard size for a womans bust size, and yet the woman has a somewhat larger rib cage area, the automatic adjustment provided by the invention will meet the difficulty and enable a comfortable wearing of the brassiere.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View looking at the front of an embodiment of the invention, the shoulder straps being broken away;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary horizontal section taken on the line 2-2, FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 33 of FIG. 1.

The brassiere is constructed with the two cups 1 which are joined at the vertical center of the garment at 2. Seamed to each cup is a back band, the back band 3 being elastic as shown by the arrows, and provided with hooks 4; the back band 5 is provided with a relatively wide tape 6 which, as customary, will carry rows of eyelets (not shown) for receiving the hooks 4. Shoulder straps 7 and 8 are provided.

The cups are framed at their lower margins and upwardly at the center of the garment, in the following manner: Joined by the seam 2 at the center of the garment are two fabric pieces 9, and except for an outwardly extending wing 9*, each fabric piece is seamed at 10 to its appropriate cup. The greater area of each wing 9 extends within a sleeve member 11, formed by folding a piece of fabric upon itself, followed by seaming its upper margin to an appropriate cup as indicated at 12 and by seaming its outer margin to an appropriate back band, as indicated at 14. Members 9 and 11 are preferably inelastic.

At or about the line of jointure between each sleeve member 11 and the back band, in each case, there is secured an elastic tape 11*, so that the tape is enclosed by the sleeve. The opposite end of the tape, in each case, is secured to the appropriate wing 9 The elastic tape is free for extension end to end.

When a woman applies the brassiere of the invention, it being for her appropriate cup size, and it is found that her rib cage is such as to require adjustment of the brassiere under its cups, this is effected automatically, because the framing under the cups will expand accordingly, and at the same time the brassiere will fit smoothly under the cups. The sleeve underlying the right hand cup shown in FIG. 1, has been partly broken away to give a partial face view of the elastic tape.

It will be understood that various modifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the elements constituting the embodiment illustrated in the drawing, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is as follows:

1. A brassiere comprising a pair of cups joined at the center line of the brassiere, a back band seamed to each cup, interconnecting means for the back bands, and a framing construction for the cups and consisting of the back bands and two fabric pieces joined at the center of the brassiere and each having an outwardly projecting wing, in combination with two fabric members, each seemed to one of the back bands and seamed at its top margin to a cup and providing a sleeve, and an elastic member within the sleeve and having one end secured to an end of one of said wings and having its opposite end secured adjacent to one of the back bands.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,421,448 6/1947 Witkower 128-492 2,541,147 2/1951 Becker 128-496 ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner. 

1. A BRASSIERE COMPRISING A PAIR OF CUPS JOINED AT THE CENTER LINE OF THE BRASSIERE, A BACK BAND SEAMED TO EACH CUP, INTERCONNECTING MEANS FOR THE BACK BANDS, AND A FRAMING CONSTRUCTION FOR THE CUPS AND CONSISTING OF THE BACK BANDS AND TWO FABRIC PIECES JOINED AT THE CENTER OF THE BRASSIERE AND EACH HAVING AN OUTWARDLY PROJECTING WING, IN COMBINATION WITH TWO FABRIC MEMBERS, EACH SEEMED TO ONE OF THE BACK BANDS AND SEAMED AT ITS TOP MARGIN TO A CUP AND PROVIDING A SLEEVE, AND AN ELASTIC MEMBER WITHIN THE SLEEVE AND HAVING ONE END SECURED TO AN END OF ONE OF SAID WINGS AND HAVING ITS OPPOSITE END SECURED ADJACENT TO ONE OF THE BACK BANDS. 